Taiwan must secure a strategic position in the “new space age” and grasp the commercial opportunities heralded by low Earth orbit satellites, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
The “new space age” refers to the increasing commercialization of space, with the private sector playing a more important role than national governments.
Tsai yesterday visited the headquarters of the National Space Organization (NSPO) at the Hsinchu Science Park along with Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅).
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu City Government
It is estimated that thousands of low Earth orbit satellites would be launched in the next decade, generating massive demand for satellite and ground equipment manufacturing, Tsai said.
The next decade is very crucial as many nations are also planning to return to the moon and Taiwan must secure a more strategically significant position in the “new space age,” she said.
Building on Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and precision manufacturing, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Development Fund are cooperating with local firms to try to grab a share of the global supply chain, she added.
Tsai expressed the hope that NSPO Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信), nicknamed “Uncle Rocket,” would be able to “rocket” local space technology into space.
After Wu assumed his position on Aug. 2 he has been restructuring the NSPO to highlight the development of satellite payloads, components and avionics.
Asked about his rationale, Wu said that the NSPO in earlier years had to purchase many components from foreign suppliers when developing a satellite.
The lack of autonomous development of certain components caused uncertainty about their import and delayed satellite development, he said.
Following the restructuring, the NSPO would be able to devote more resources to developing satellite payloads and components, Wu said.
The flight control division and electrical engineering division have been merged into a new satellite avionics division, he said.
Speaking about the NSPO’s plans, Wu said weather satellite Triton (獵風者) is scheduled to be launched next year and it also plans to develop a second low Earth orbit communications satellite for the Beyond 5G project, set to be launched in 2025 or 2026.
The Beyond 5G project only consisted of one satellite when it was initiated by the Ministry of Science and Technology in January with a budget of NT$4 billion (US$144.3 million).
The specifications of the two B5G communications satellites would be comparable to those of the Starlink satellites developed by SpaceX, Wu said.
Asked whether there would be more funding to produce satellites, Executive Yuan Board of Science and Technology Executive Secretary Andrew Yeh (葉哲良) said that more deliberation is needed and that the results would be known by the end of this year.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
NATURAL INTERRUPTION: As cables deteriorate, core wires snap in progression along the cable, which does not happen if they are hit by an anchor, an official said Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) immediately switched to a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after two undersea cables malfunctioned due to natural deterioration, the Ministry of Digital Affairs told an emergency news conference yesterday morning. Two submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper and the outlying county — the No. 2 and No. 3 Taiwan-Matsu cables — were disconnected early yesterday morning and on Wednesday last week respectively, the nation’s largest telecom said. “After receiving the report that the No. 2 cable had failed, the ministry asked Chunghwa Telecom to immediately activate a microwave backup system, with
RSS